Coyne Steven Sanders dies at 56

Coyne Steven Sanders, an author and entertainment journalist who wrote several notable books about mid-century television, died Thursday, Feb. 7, in Chicago. He was 56.

Sanders’ exhaustively researched books “Rainbow’s End: The Judy Garland Show” (Morrow, 1990) and “Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz” (Morrow, 1993), the latter co-authored with Tom Gilbert, are widely regarded as definitive works on their subjects. HarperCollins released an updated version of “Desilu” in 2011.

He also wrote “The Dick Van Dyke Show: Anatomy of a Classic” and “Champagne Music: The Lawrence Welk Show,” both with Ginny Weissman.

As a reporter, Sanders covered television for the Hollywood Reporter and Emmy magazine. He also wrote for Variety.

An expert on the life and career of Judy Garland, Sanders was involved in numerous retrospective projects involving her work. He was instrumental in the original release on CD of many of her Capitol recordings and oversaw the DVD debut of her TV shows in a series for Pioneer.

Having lived in Los Angeles for more than two decades, he returned to his native Chicago several years ago.